


today (or: henry tries to get alex to sleep)

by xslytherclawx



Category: Red White & Royal Blue - Casey McQuiston
Genre: ADHD Alex Claremont-Diaz, Alex Claremont-Diaz Needs to Sleep, Domestic Fluff, Fluff and Humor, Law School, M/M, Yuletide Treat
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-12-26
Updated: 2020-12-26
Packaged: 2021-03-11 05:01:22
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 642
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28199553
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/xslytherclawx/pseuds/xslytherclawx
Summary: You know the joke about law students and sleep, right?Henry is at his wit's end.
Relationships: Alex Claremont-Diaz/Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor, June Claremont-Diaz & Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor & Nora Holleran
Comments: 20
Kudos: 142
Collections: Yuletide Madness 2020, xslytherclawx’s events collection





	today (or: henry tries to get alex to sleep)

**Author's Note:**

  * For [Mousek](https://archiveofourown.org/users/Mousek/gifts).



> Happy Yuletide, Mousek!
> 
> This is set in December 2020, but we're going off of RWRB being the Best Timeline, so no references to COVID-19 whatsoever! Just fluff and friendship and love!

There’s an old joke about law students and sleep.

You know the one.

Q: “What do law students say to sleep?” A: “Not today.”

Alex seems to have taken this as personal advice.

Henry has been known to keep odd hours himself, and he’s hardly a paradigm of healthy sleeping habits, but it’s past the point now where he’s started to get concerned.

Last week, he was invited to the White House for Thanksgiving dinner, and it was lovely and wonderful and a reminder that he’s part of an entire  _ team _ of people who love Alex – and that most of those people seem to love him, too.

At least they claim to.

Henry grew up hearing his parents and Bea – and even Philip, when he was young – assuring him that they loved him. He’s not sure whether he’s ever heard his gran say it, but it’s not as if he grew up without hearing “I love you”.

It’s a bit strange when it’s Alex’s family, but they seem to mean it.

So, after the third night in a row where Alex seems to have slept a total of maybe one hour combined, Henry texts June and Nora and asks them for their help.

**Messages with** June C & Nora H  
  
Nora Holleran  
just crush some sleeping pills into his protein shake   
  
June Claremont-Diaz  
that’s fucked up   
  
Nora Holleran  
but effective!   
  
**Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:** I’m not going to put sleeping pills in his protein shake  
  
Nora Holleran  
good call it’ll be better in his food   
  
**Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:** I’m not going to do that either  
  
**Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:** Serious suggestions only  
  
Nora Holleran  
that was a serious suggestion   
  
June Claremont-Diaz  
have you tried going to a run with him and seeing if that tires him out?   
  
**Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:** Yes. It didn’t work.  
  
Nora Holleran  
he sleeps pretty well after sex   
  
**Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:** Tried that, too.  
  
Nora Holleran  
who knew his royal highness could be that cunning… maybe you’re not a hufflepuff after all   
  
**Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:** I’ve told you before I’m a Ravenclaw and if you’re not going to help I’ll sort something out on my own.  
  
June Claremont-Diaz  
ok hear me out   
  
**Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:**?  
  
June Claremont-Diaz  
when we were real little mom and dad used to take him on long car rides until he fell asleep   
  
**Henry Fox-Mountchristen-Windsor:** I haven’t got a car.  
  
June Claremont-Diaz  
but amy does   
  


* * *

Henry didn’t know why he didn’t think of it first. As First Son, Alex has a non-negotiable secret service detail; Amy and her wife live on the first floor of their brownstone, and it’s an easy enough discussion to have.

It’s a weekend, and Alex still has a week before exams.

At this rate, Alex won’t sleep at all until he passes out, and though he doesn’t go anywhere without a secret service agent nearby, Henry still doesn’t like the idea of Alex passing out.

Amy, of course, is in complete agreement.

Nora has an excuse ready for Alex to visit her at MIT, and refuses to accept any excuses, even though they already have plans to visit for Chanukah after Alex is finished exams.

Amy drives. Henry and Alex sit in the back seat. Amy hits every bad patch of traffic. For the first hour, Alex talks their ears off between revising, and Henry starts to wonder if this was all just a waste of time.

But then, somewhere in Connecticut, he yawns and asks for coffee. Amy apologises that all she has is herbal tea and promises to stop at the next rest stop.

By that point, thank Christ, Alex is asleep.

They drive on to Cambridge, and Amy deposits Alex on Nora’s bed and offers to stay as security detail while Henry and Nora get dinner.

“For the record,” Nora says as they leave her building, “I still think the sleeping pills would have been easier.”

**Author's Note:**

> visit me on [tumblr](http://xslytherclawx.tumblr.com)!


End file.
